The other weekend at the farmer’s market I had two bags waiting for me with my name on it, at The Mushroomery booth. Two bags full of sawdust with white elm mushroom spawn. Last year we grew white elm mushrooms in our greenhouse with success and also some in our garden. We waited a few more days than we meant to, to spread the mushroom spawn in those bags in our garden, and the bag started sprouting mushrooms. Jeff and I spread the spawn throughout the straw mulch in our garden, covered it with more straw, and watered it thoroughly. I took some pictures of the spawn we spread before we covered it up. Jeff placed it in areas of the garden where he is already watering anyway. We’ll see if we get any mushrooms, it’s an experiment.

P.S. Bracken’s “pet mushroom” (a blue oyster) went to live out in the garden, instead of in the house. He named it “pink purple poppy” after the flowers in the garden he loves so much. He started a toilet paper roll collection. We unrolled them, sprayed them with water, and wrapped them around the blue oyster spawn. It’s been eating them right up. (If you can call it that. We really are thinking of it like a pet, aren’t we?) We don’t know how it will like being in the garden, that’s an experiment too.

P.P.S. We’ll be at the market tomorrow! See some of you there!